The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  "Withdraw!"

  Although he was extremely unwilling, Dayan Mangban still clenched his teeth and issued the order to retreat. Rumble! Like a landslide, the already demoralized Tibetan army immediately fell to pieces when Dayan Mangban sounded the retreat.

  "Pursue!"

  The Tang were invigorated by this sight. Rumble! The Halo of Dusk Stallion descended, immediately buffing the army. The five thousand Wushang Cavalry pressed forward in pursuit. "Aaaah!" Miserable screams filled the air as the Wushang Cavalry mowed the fleeing Tibetans down.

  Five thousand, seven thousand, eight thousand… ten thousand!

  When five thousand Wushang Cavalry charged in formation, they displayed a killing efficiency never before seen in this world. The dense ranks of the Tibetan cavalry were scattered in a single wave, and while some Tibetans attempted to group up and cover the retreat, they were swiftly crushed.

  "Hurry!"

  Dayan Mangban's fierce shout resounded over the battlefield. Against Wang Chong's five thousand Wushang Cavalry in charging formation, not even a Saint Martial expert like him dared to stick around, much less others. Anyone who dared to stop was essentially committing suicide, and they wouldn't even be able to delay Wang Chong's forces, much less stop them.

  Bwoooom!

  When the Tibetan army was in the greatest danger, a horn blared across the battlefield. This horn was a little different from previous ones. It was even louder and imbued with a grandeur, righteousness, and dignity. At the same time, the earth began to rumble as something began to head toward the rear of the Tibetan army.

  "Stop!"

  Wang Chong was leading the charge from the front, and when he heard that unusual horn, he immediately raised his right hand and ordered the halt, a wary expression on his face. The earth trembled and the grass rustled as a black tide surged out from behind Dayan Mangban's collapsing army. Yet another army of the Ü-Tsang Empire had emerged.

  From a distance, Wang Chong could clearly make out the tall black battle standard emblazoned with the white eagle, together with the image of a vast snowy mountain.

  "It's Dusong Mangpoje!"

  Wang Chong's heart chilled as he immediately recognized the war banner. In all of the plateau, there was only one person that Wang Chong recalled used the image of a white eagle as his war banner: the Eagle of the Plateau, Dusong Mangpoje!

  "Withdraw!"

  Wang Chong waved his right hand down, immediately ordering a retreat.

  Dusong Mangpoje was a Great General of the Ü-Tsang Empire, even stronger than Dayan Mangban. Although Wang Chong was not surprised at his appearance, this moment was not the time for their final clash.

  Rumble! As soon as he gave the order, Wang Chong turned his horse around. Behind him, the five thousand Wushang Cavalry halted their pursuit and immediately began to gallop back to the steel fortress in the triangular gap.

  "This brat! He's got quite the fast reaction!"

  In the distance, Dusong Mangpoje saw this retreat and half-closed his eyes. If Wang Chong had dared to pursue, he wouldn't have minded killing him with a single blow.

  But Wang Chong had been extremely sensitive. Before Dusong Mangpoje had even arrived, he had ordered his army to retreat, and not even Dusong Mangpoje could do anything about that.

  "It seems that it's not the time to kill him yet. I have to wait a little longer," Dusong Mangpoje muttered.

  This was not his first meeting with Wang Chong. That had been in the capital of the Great Tang, where Dusong Mangpoje had used the 'Civet Cat for Crown Prince' plan1, having one of his formidable subordinates take the place of the First Prince so that he could kill many experts in the capital of the Great Tang.

  In the end, however, Wang Chong had exposed this plan and even revealed Dusong Mangpoje's identity. He was pursued by Great Tang experts all the way back to Ü-Tsang and was almost forced into remaining in the Central Plains.

  The experience had left a very deep impression on Dusong Mangpoje.

  But the youth from the Great Tang capital had been even more formidable than he had imagined. Huoshu Huicang and Dalun Ruozan had been defeated in the southwest, the heroic Dayan Pugyal of the Dayan Clan had been slain at Zhangzhung, and even Dayan Mangban had lost to him.

  That intelligent youth from the Great Tang's capital was rapidly maturing into a threat for the Ü-Tsang Empire, a lurking menace.

  But even though his heart was seething with murderous intent, he had to be patient. With an Imperial Great General of the Great Tang like Fumeng Lingcha present, Dusong Mangpoje had to control himself.

  "Fumeng Lingcha, what are you up to? Do you want me to kill him or not?"

  Dusong Mangpoje aimed one final and profound glance at Fumeng Lingcha before returning his focus to the battlefield.

  "Give the signal for withdrawal."

  The army was currently in chaos. If they wanted to remove that barrier the Great Tang had set up along the triangular gap, they first had to reorganize.

  ……

  As the Tibetan army gave the signal for withdrawal, the first battle came to an end. In the distance, the Qixi Protectorate army was stupefied.

  "This boy is far too formidable!"

  "Did he plan on that explosion? If so, then that's just too shocking!"

  "Dayan Mangban is definitely kicking himself now. This boy is far harder to deal with than he thought, a real opponent for him."

  The twists and turns of this battle had caught all the Qixi soldiers by surprise, and all the officers were stunned by the result.

  These were fierce generals of the Qixi Protectorate army, frontline veterans with abundant battlefield experience, who had experienced all sorts of tribulations.

  But even these proud Qixi generals had to admit that if they were in Wang Chong's position, it would have been impossible to survive Dayan Mangban's frenzied assaults.

  "Everyone, shut up!"

  Hearing his generals make such tactless comments infuriated Fumeng Lingcha. Had these bastards forgotten who their enemy was? They would dare praise Wang Chong in a place like this!

  "Do all of you have nothing to do? All of you, go and inspect the troops! Make sure they're ready to enter the battle at any moment!"

  "Yes!"

  The generals shuddered, hurriedly lowering their heads and taking off.

  ……

  "Hahaha…"

  While the other two sides were feeling suppressed, in the triangular gap, behind the silvery-white walls of steel, the soldiers were exultant and full of energy.

  The eight-thousand-some craftsmen in the steel fortress had also poked their heads over the walls and were excitedly cheering.

  "Lord Marquis!"

  "Lord Marquis!"

  "Lord Marquis!"

  The cheers echoed through the skies, and Fumeng Lingcha, Dayan Mangban, and the Tibetans could only grimace.

  "Lord Marquis, how did you manage to do that? Why did that white fog suddenly explode?"

  After the battle, Cheng Sanyuan, Su Shixuan, Xu Keyi, and the other officers had gathered around Wang Chong, all of them peering at him curiously.

  The most interesting thing about this battle was that massive explosion that had shattered the Tibetan army. Even now, after the battle, that sight still felt like a miracle, and all of them could hardly believe it had happened.

  They all knew that Wang Chong had to have something to do with it, but no one knew how.

  "Don't ask anymore. I'll naturally tell you all in the future, but the battle has only come to a temporary halt and is far from over. The Tibetans definitely won't give up so easily," Wang Chong said.

  "Yes!"

  Seeing that Wang Chong was serious, the officers dispelled their curiosity and lowered their heads.

  "Li Siye, dispatch the scouts and take stock of the losses," Wang Chong said.

  "This subordinate will send them now."

  Li Siye selected a few people, and several scouts quickly shot out from behind the walls.


  ______________

  1.See chapter 417 for further details on this incident as well as for an explanation on 'Civet Cat for Crown Prince'.↩

  Chapter 777: Preparations for the Second Wave!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  The casualty numbers for the battle were quickly reported. The Tibetans had left five to six thousand yak corpses on the battlefield, and around a thousand had survived and fled in panic. It would take many hours to recover them.

  But even if they could be recovered, they had lost the will to fight.

  In addition, the explosion and the subsequent charge of the Wushang Cavalry had inflicted losses of eighteen to nineteen thousand on Dayan Mangban's army. There were also probably six to seven thousand cavalry that had been heavily injured by the explosion.

  Meanwhile, Wang Chong's side had suffered minuscule casualties.

  This was a thorough and decisive victory.

  The only surprise was in the small steel fortress in the rear. Seven or eight craftsmen had fallen from ladders during the explosion and been injured. In addition, twenty-some people had lost their hearing from the shockwaves.

  These were the most serious casualties on Wang Chong's side.

  As for the soldiers, since they had received advance warning and gotten down on the ground, they had avoided the brunt of the explosion and had received only a few light scratches.

  When these numbers came out, everyone was dumbstruck. All of them turned to Wang Chong, their eyes bursting with admiration.

  "Don't get too happy just yet," Wang Chong indifferently said. "Someone of Dayan Mangban's personality will be launching the next attack soon, and this one will be even more vicious and fierce."

  "Haha, what do we have to be afraid of? With Lord Marquis here, it doesn't matter how powerful Dayan Mangban is. He had so many soldiers just now, but he still had to retreat in bitter defeat. With such losses, he's even less of a match for Lord Marquis."

  "Agreed! Dayan Mangban has lost twice now to Lord Marquis. Another attempt will just result in an even greater defeat."

  "Every measure has its appropriate countermeasure. Given our strength, should we be afraid of him?"

  The generals all began to sound off with their opinions. The battle just now had been a great boost to their confidence, and they now had incredible faith in Wang Chong. Even if Wang Chong told them that he was now going to take them to conquer the entire Ü-Tsang Empire, they would probably take him at his word.

  "Proud soldiers are bound to lose. Don't get careless."

  Wang Chong shook his head.

  His subordinates were drastically underestimating Dayan Mangban. Although he had defeated Dayan Mangban twice now, the first time had only been because he could keep Dayan Mangban's soldiers outside the walls and deal with him alone using rotating teams and joint attack formations.

  The second time was because Dayan Mangban's use of barley flour to create a thick white fog had a massive flaw, and Wang Chong was able to use the dust explosion to defeat him.

  Neither time was a proper exchange. If one concluded that Dayan Mangban wasn't really all that much from these two victories, then one would be doing nothing more than digging their own grave.

  If this was all Dayan Mangban was capable of, he would have never been capable of leaving the City of Steel in defeat and turning right around to kill five thousand Qixi soldiers and Pulan He. And besides that, he certainly wouldn't have been worthy of triggering the Stone of Destiny to issue the 'Threat to Qixi' mission, with success resulting in a reward of 400 Destiny Energy and failure leading to a loss of 2000 Destiny Energy.

  Moreover, this was the Asura War God of the Ü-Tsang Empire, the future King of Generals. How could he possibly have such little ability?

  "Everyone, cease the chatter." A vigorous voice spoke up, silencing the other officers. "Lord Marquis speaks reason, and I sense as well that this Dayan Mangban is truly an expert. A person who could think of using a yak herd as a vanguard is definitely not a simple person."

  Everyone began to turn to Li Siye.

  "Proud soldiers are doomed to defeat, and this battle involves us all, but also the eight-thousand-some craftsmen behind us and the safety of Qixi. Until this battle is over, not a single hint of carelessness is permitted," Li Siye sternly admonished.

  Wang Chong turned his head to glance at the towering figure of Li Siye and gave a subtle nod. Li Siye truly had the qualities of a top-class Great General. No matter the occasion, he would never abandon his instincts as a commander. Even after the greatest victory, he was able to coldly analyze the situation and make the most rational judgment.

  "Everyone, go and rest. Dayan Mangban probably won't attack for the time being. In addition, tell the craftsmen in the rear to increase their speed and finish the third level. The time for this fortress to be used is getting closer and closer," Wang Chong said, his orders as firm as stone. The officers all assented and quickly withdrew.

  ……

  "Dayan, how is it? Do you need me to come in?"

  Two-thousand-some zhang away, in the rear of the Tibetan army, another conversation was taking place, but the parties of this conversation were one Ü-Tsang Imperial Great General and one Brigadier General.

  The atmosphere was extremely grim.

  The defeat from just now had been far too massive. Even though Dusong Mangpoje was responsible for seeing to the rear and holding down Fumeng Lingcha, he had not been able to ignore the situation.

  They had suffered an astonishing loss of nearly twenty thousand cavalry. If one added on the twenty thousand losses of Buluhu's army, the Tibetans had lost forty thousand cavalry in total.

  Even an Imperial Great General like Dusong Mangpoje would have to think carefully about how to explain this enormous number to the Tsenpo.

  "There's no need!" Dayan Mangban immediately refused. "I started this battle, so I have to personally bring it to a close. As for that Wang Chong, no matter what, I will kill him."

  "I understand that Wang Chong a little, and he's certainly not an easy person to deal with," Dusong Mangpoje said. "You also saw the battle just now. He's far craftier than we imagined. You alone might not be enough."

  It wasn't that he didn't believe in Dayan Mangban, but Dayan Mangban had already lost twice now, and the casualties had been large. He could not permit the soldiers that the Ü-Tsang Empire needed to conquer the world to be used in Dayan Mangban's personal dispute.

  Wang Chong was a target that the Tsenpo needed killed, so if Dayan Mangban could not deal with him, Dusong Mangpoje would have to do so himself.

  "You're afraid that the losses just now were too great and I'm about to lose even more soldiers?"

  Dayan Mangban stared at Dusong Mangpoje, his eyes sharp.

  Dusong Mangpoje said nothing, but he gave a firm nod. As the commander-in-chief, there were some things he had to consider, and there was no need to hide them, even in front of Dayan Mangban.

  "Hmph, if that's the case, you don't need to worry, because now, I plan to have my White Braves personally take the field. I don't need any soldiers from you. Whether you agree or not, I will definitely kill that Wang Chong!"

  With these final words and a sweep of his sleeve, Dayan Mangban left.

  ……

  The blustery wind blew over the blast-ridden plateau, filling the air with a scorched scent.

  Behind the silvery-white steel walls, Wang Chong sat cross-legged. By his side was the mountainous figure of Li Siye, acting as his sentinel.

  Even if I've defeated the Tibetans, killing a Saint Martial expert like Dayan Mangban is still difficult!

  A hand propped under his chin, Wang Chong gazed at the ground in thought.

  The mission the Stone of Destiny had given him required Wang Chong to personally kill Dayan Mangban. Someone else killing Dayan Mangban or Dayan Mangban encountering some accident would not fulfill the requirements.

  If a situation like that occurred, the mi
ssion would be regarded as failed and he would lose 2000 Destiny Energy. Even to the current Wang Chong, this was still a massive number.

  After all, after his desperate efforts to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, all the blood and sweat he had used to defeat Huoshu Huicang and Dalun Ruozan and save the southwest, he had only obtained 2410 points of Destiny Energy from completing 'Empire's Dirge'.

  The difference in cultivation is still a very large problem. I have to find a way to bring up my strength and close the distance.

  With a thought, Wang Chong communicated with the Stone of Destiny. Time was short, and it was impossible to raise his strength so quickly through normal methods, so he could only rely on the Stone of Destiny.

  One had to remember that he had not once used the large amount of Destiny Energy he had accumulated since the conclusion of his last mission. Moreover, after completing the 'Trial of Destiny', he had advanced from 'Destiny Struggler' to 'Controller of Destiny'. The Stone of Destiny had also undergone a large transformation, opening a new category of rewards that he could exchange for.

  Buzz!

  In the next moment, the scene in front of Wang Chong's eyes changed. Floating in the boundless darkness, a stone about the size of a fist appeared in front of him, seemingly plain yet also exuding powerful ripples in space-time.

  This was the Stone of Destiny!

  Wang Chong had been so busy with matters in reality that it had been a long time since he had carefully examined the Stone of Destiny. After all the events that had transpired, the Stone of Destiny seemed to have gotten larger, and also seemed to be a bit more dazzling and lustrous. This only made it seem more mysterious.

  '4030'!

  On the upper-right corner of the Stone of Destiny, Wang Chong saw a line of flickering golden numbers.

  This is the amount of Destiny Energy I've currently accumulated?

  The moment this thought crossed his mind, countless images began to flit past his eyes, carrying with them countless pieces of information. All the rewards from the war of the southwest and the amount he had leftover from before that totaled 2410 points of Destiny Energy. Recruiting five thousand Wushang soldiers from Wushang Village had rewarded him with 600 points of Destiny Energy. For developing cement, he had obtained 1000 points of Destiny Energy. Writing a letter to Gao Xianzhi and exposing heavenly knowledge had lost him 600 points, and finally, the warhorse mission had rewarded him with 510 points of Destiny Energy…